ASB raises school spirit from afar

Cali Shohet

Once known for providing students with a social outlet on Carlmont’s campus, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has been finding creative ways to keep Carlmont students involved during distance learning. While many things have changed at Carlmont over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASB’s involvement in supporting students has not. Using various virtual platforms, ASB has allowed students to have access to events, clubs, and information, just like they would have in conventional times.

One way ASB has been able to keep up school spirit virtually is by using multiple social media platforms, such as Instagram. In order to keep students’ spirits up before finals week in December, the organization put on a competition to see which students had the cutest dogs. Students submitted pictures of their dogs and voted on Instagram polls. This event was in lieu of what ASB does before finals under normal circumstances: they bring therapy dogs into the Carlmont quad for students to enjoy. In this year’s virtual event, Keona Garza Helmer, a junior, entered her dog Tubs into the competition. “I think it was really fun to see other people’s dogs and see people vote for them. It was a great way to feel involved in a school event while at home,” Garza Helmer said.

Besides the use of social media, ASB keeps students involved in the Carlmont community through the use of Reach Out, an inclusive social club on campus. Before COVID-19, Reach Out would welcome students to come bring food and play fun games. They call their club meetings hangouts, which had been an essential path in forming connections with peers for many Carlmont students. However, inperson meetups had to be put on hold during the pandemic. Luckily, this hasn’t stopped ASB students from delivering high-quality events in the virtual setting.

“I’ve enjoyed the virtual hangouts because we can go into breakout rooms and do fun activities like play ‘scribble. io,’” Zoe Kosh, a sophomore and consistent attendee of Reach Out, said.

However, ASB’s efforts weren’t limited to these events.

“Some events that ASB’s service council has done this year have been the virtual Valentine’s Day cards, clubs fair, and other recognition projects for firefighters and essential workers. ASB’s activity council has done Among Us Zooms, Couchella, Netflix parties, spirit wear, and much more,” Joley Bove, a junior in ASB, said.

Despite ASB’s success in the virtual setting, not all of it has been easily achieved.

“A large majority of ASB’s events are based on in-person student interactions, so figuring out how to modify what we’re doing has definitely been a challenge,” Bove said.

However, their efforts have been widely appreciated.

Garza Helmer said, “I love being a part of the Carlmont community, and the ASB events are such a great way for students like me to get involved.”